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Zydeco band ©Chris Granger Canoes on Lake Martin Steamed shrimp Welcome to the land of the fais dodo, zydeco and the Rougarou. Its largest city, Lafayette, is home to dozens of restaurants, museums and music venues. Discover Avery Island, Abbeville and Morgan City deep in the Atchafalaya Swamp, and towns such as Opelousas, Lake Charles and Eunice in Cajun Country’s prairie heartland. Relax at resorts in Lake Charles, buy boudin in Scott and watch the sun rise over the Gulf in Grand Isle. Southwest Louisiana fishing guide Capt. Sammie Faulk will help you peel back the layers of the region’s remarkable culture, landscape and cuisine. Airboat swamp tour with McGee’s Landing/Atchafalaya Tours Donner-Peltier Distillers HOUMA-THIBODAUXGRAND ISLE AREA Prime outdoor spots in this area include the beaches of Grand Isle State Park and Grand Isle’s Butterfly Dome. Try inland kayak fishing with Calmwater Charters there and Reel Screamers for offshore fishing adventures. And in Houma, hometown to the History Channel’s Swamp People, you’ll find a halfdozen swamp tour companies. All of this is enough to work up an appetite, and there are plenty of restaurants that are sure to satisfy. Some of the best include 1921 Seafood & Oyster Bar in Houma, Boudreaux & Thibodeau's Cajun Cookin’ in Houma, Bubba’s II PoBoys in Thibodaux and Harry’s Po Boys in Larose. Find more suggestions of things to do in the area at the brand new Houma area welcome center in the city of Gray. Wakeboarding ©Victor Monsour Drinks at Social Southern Table and Bar ©Denny Culbert Ceramic bowls ©Wortman Pottery Shadows-on-the- Teche IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME… See the 100-plus artworks at the Chauvin Sculpture Garden. Tour Donner-Peltier Distillers’ facility to see how Louisiana rum is made. NEW IBERIAMORGAN CITY AREA Cajun restaurants Bon Creole Lunch Counter and Victor’s Cafeteria are big draws for hungry visitors to picturesque New Iberia. Asian restaurants such as Pho Ly Ly in New Iberia and Ye’s Café in Youngsville are also popular, thanks to the region’s large southeast Asian community. New Iberia is also home to America’s oldest rice mill, Conrad Rice Mill, which is open for tours. In Morgan City, you’ll find historic homes and the Atchafalaya River waterfront, perfect for spending an afternoon, and celebrated Southern food restaurant Rita Mae’s Kitchen. Rubboard player Desiree Champagne at Festival Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette LAFAYETTE AREA Cajun Country’s capital of Lafayette, dubbed the “Happiest City in America” by a 2014 Harvard University study, works hard to live up to its reputation. Cultural connoisseurs will want to dive into Cajun history at The Acadian Cultural Center, St. John Cathedral and Acadian Village. Book a trip for your taste buds with Cajun Food Tours and Gotreaux Family Farms, and pick up a locally made gift or two from Wortman Pottery, Lafayette Jockey Flea Market and Louisiana Marketshops at the 115 in Breaux Bridge. Hungry? Lafayette has you covered. Social Southern Table & Bar and The French Press are just a couple of the dozens of great restaurants in town, and according to Capt. Sammie, “Black’s Oyster Bar in Abbeville is just phenomenal.” IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME… Climb aboard an actual oil rig at the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition in Morgan City Step back in time to the steamboat era at the Jeanerette Museum IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME… Tour Crystal Rice Plantation Heritage Farm in Crowley Buy local crafts at Sans Souci Gallery in Lafayette Festival Acadiens et Creole ©Philip Gould Fishing ©Lake Charles CVB LAKE CHARLES AREA “We’re lucky to live here,” Capt. Sammie says of his hometown of Lake Charles. He offers a long list of scenic spots to check out, including Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, Calcasieu Lake and the Sabine River. The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road runs through or near all of them. For fishing or hunting charters, Capt. Sammie suggests calling up Hackberry Rod & Gun in Hackberry or Grosse Savanne in Lake Charles. If you’d prefer your meal already cooked, Capt. Sammie recommends downhome Big Daddy’s Sports Grill and Chastain’s Food & Spirits in Lake Charles, and LeBleu’s Landing in Sulphur. IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME… Walk the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area’s birding trail near Gueydan Dine your way across the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail INSTAGRAM.COM/LOUISIANATRAVEL An amazing meal at Avery Island prepared with fresh @laseafoodboard #OnlyLouisiana. –buddyboe Capt. Sammie Faulk ©Robert Montgomery Capt. Sammie Faulk of Gotta-Go Charters in Lake Charles has been floating the waters of Cameron and Calcasieu parishes for over five decades. Asked how he got into the business of showing visitors around southwest Louisiana’s waterways, he says that, after 18 years of working for a plumbing wholesaler, “I just got burnt out, took a vacation and decided to never go back.” True to his company’s name, Capt. Sammie can’t sit still. He guides visitors on birdwatching trips at Grosse Savanne Waterfowl and Wildlife Lodge and runs fishing trips throughout southwest Louisiana. At an age where many men are retiring, he’s still working part-time as a sheri.’s deputy, “just whenever I get a break and have nothing else to do.” It’s hard to imagine Capt. Sammie taking a break at all.
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Cajun Country
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